The Grocery Store admittedly is one of my least favorite places to shop. Even though I love to cook, it sometimes takes all day to convince myself to enter the doors. I do not have a real good answer as to why it is an unfavored chore, it just is. I no longer have to tote 1-4 children with me as they are all grown and shopping for themselves, so what's the deal?
As I meander through the aisles, I come across parents who did not get to escape to the store without their miniature sidekicks alongside them. I spy children who are running ahead or behind. I spy children who are nestled into their cart with their nose deep into an electronic oblivious to where they are even at. I spy kids crying seemingly because they have been told "no". I spy siblings taunting one another.
Please believe me when I say, I am not judging you! I am reflecting upon a time I was surviving and rarely felt like I was thriving. I experienced every single one of the above scenarios. Do I wish I had done better? Sometimes. Did our children turn out ok? I think so. Can I think of some things that could have made that time more enjoyable and enriching for all of us? I believe I have.
Not every visit to the grocery store needs to be a field trip. I mean let's be serious, it is just not practical! But how about those times you are looking for an experience to do with your child that will fill up some of those long days at home. If you enter the store with a mindset to make this trip memorable and educational, you both just may benefit. Here is a list of activities I feel may turn that trip to the store a fun time for all!
1. Find a Fun Recipe to Shop For. Look through a cookbook together and write or draw pictures of the ingredients needed. Shop specifically for those items and cook/bake together. Bonus points if you create a treat or make a casserole for a friend or relative to share.
2. Play an alphabet game. Find an item that starts with the letter "A", then "B", etc. You may be trudging up/down those aisles a bit to find Q and Z, but remember, this trip is not about efficiency, it is about the experience.
3. Size Sorting. Who can find the biggest potato? Who can find the smallest. Which cucumber is the longest? Shortest? Which melon weighs the most? You get the point.
4. Color Matching. Can you find a food that is red? blue? orange?
5. Play Food BINGO. I have created these cards that you can print off. Consider making several copies. If you can, copy them onto cardstock or laminate to use them over and over. Provide them a safe writing tool or use stickers once they find the item. Siblings can play against one another, together, or it is even fun to play individually.
6. Price Comparison. For your older children, spend some time in various sections price comparing. It is never too early to educate your child on money management and incorporating early math concepts into shopping for your basic foods is a great learning tool.
7. When in an aisle play the "I'm thinking of..." game. Give clues such as.."I'm thinking of a food that is blue. It is round. It is juicy. It is a fruit. It is smaller than my thumb. BLUEBERRY!!! See if they can reciprocate. What a great way to work on vocabulary and story telling!
8. Food Group Challenge. Ask your child what food category various foods are as you put them in the cart.
9. Give Your Child a Simplified List of items you need to purchase along with a clipboard if you have. As you place an item in the cart, ask them to cross it off the list. EX...Below: "Cross off Blueberries, it starts with a B" "Cross off Milk, there is a smiley face at the end of the word".
10. If able, have your child help bring groceries in and put away. It is GREAT heavy work to carry those bags and it will help them with being able to sort and categorize. Once the job is done, finish with a favorite snack! I mean there needs to be more reward than just learning! hee..hee!
I hope this gives you some incentive the next time you need to enter a Supermarket with your littles! Or, the next time it is raining and you are looking for an activity to do with your child, you choose to practice some important life skills by entering a store with a whole new outlook by using one of these strategies!
Let us know if you have try any!
-Miss Connie